Pharmaceutical Tray Filling System and Method

ABSTRACT

A system for facilitating the manual filling of a pharmaceutical tray is provided. The system includes an electronic display device configured to display information adjacent the wells of the pharmaceutical tray. The system includes a controller configured to control the electronic display device to display information representative of a first type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a first well to direct manual placement of the first type of pharmaceutical into the first well and to control the electronic display device to selectively display information representative of a second type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a second well to direct manual placement of the second type of pharmaceutical into the second well.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.15/277,476, filed Sep. 27, 2016, which is a divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/828,791, filed Mar. 14, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,477,816, which is incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of pharmaceuticalpackaging and distribution. The present invention relates specificallyto a filing of a pharmaceutical tray. Automated packaging devices areused by various health care and pharmacy operations to accuratelypackage pharmaceuticals for use within the facility. For example,multiple pharmaceuticals for a patient may be packaged together. Thepackaged pharmaceuticals are then provided to the patient

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the invention relates to pharmaceutical filling systemincluding a display screen configured to display instructions to a userof the workstation, a flat panel display screen and a tray supportstructure located at a peripheral edge of the flat panel display screen.The system includes a tray including a plurality of wells, and each wellis configured to hold a pharmaceutical. Each well including a bottomwall formed from a light transmitting material. The tray is positionedon and supported by the tray support structure above the flat paneldisplay screen. The system includes a controller configured to controlthe flat panel display screen to display information related to a firstpharmaceutical at a first region of the flat panel display screen suchthat the displayed information is viewable from above the tray throughthe bottom wall of a first well of the tray to direct the user of theworkstation to fill the first well with the first pharmaceutical.

Another embodiment of the invention relates to a system for facilitatingthe manual filling of a pharmaceutical tray including at least two wellseach configured to hold a pharmaceutical. The system includes anelectronic display device configured to display information adjacent tothe at least two wells of the pharmaceutical tray. The system includes acontroller configured to control the electronic display device todisplay information representative of a first type of pharmaceuticaladjacent to a first well to direct manual placement of the first type ofpharmaceutical into the first well and to control the electronic displaydevice to selectively display information representative of a secondtype of pharmaceutical adjacent to a second well to direct manualplacement of the second type of pharmaceutical into the second well.

Another embodiment of the invention relates to a method of controlling apharmaceutical filling workstation to facilitate the manual filling of apharmaceutical tray including a plurality of wells each configured tohold a pharmaceutical. The method includes the step of controlling adisplay device to display information indicative of a firstpharmaceutical below a first well of the plurality of wells. The methodincludes the step of receiving a first input indicative of the firstpharmaceutical being placed in the first well. The method includes thestep of controlling the display device to display information indicativeof a second pharmaceutical below a second well of the plurality ofwells. The method includes the step of receiving a second inputindicative of the second pharmaceutical being placed in the second well.

Another embodiment of the invention relates to a system for filling aprescription medication orders. The system includes a medication trayincluding at least one row of medication channels passing through thetray and a unique machine-readable tray identifier. The system includesa workstation including a first display device configured to displaymedication information and to display information input at theworkstation. The workstation also includes a second display configuredto display images at the bottom of a plurality of channels and a readerassembly configured to read the tray identifier and to read amachine-readable medication identifier from a medication container. Thesystem includes a database including tray data representative of thetray identifier, data representative of medication items to be manuallyplaced in the medication tray, and data representative of the respectivechannels within which the respective medication items are to be placed.The database includes prescription data representative of informationfor a plurality of medication items where such information includes datauseable by the workstation to generate of images of a plurality ofmedication items on the first and second displays. The database includesassociation data which associates the medication identifier with themedication items. The workstation is configured to communicate with thedatabase and the reader assembly, to display information on the firstdisplay representative of at least one medication item associated with atray identifier, to display information on the first displayrepresentative of medication from a medication container and to generatean image representative of the medication item at the bottom of thechannel in the tray at which the medication item is to be placed.

Alternative exemplary embodiments relate to other features andcombinations of features as may be generally recited in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This application will become more fully understood from the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a packaging cabinet and pharmaceutical tray according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is the packaging cabinet of FIG. 1 with the tray supported on adrawer of the cabinet according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a filling workstation according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a filling workstation according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is the filling workstation of FIG. 4 with a pharmaceutical traysupported above a display device according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the pharmaceutical tray of FIG. 5 depictingdisplay of information to facilitate filling of the pharmaceutical trayaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a process of filling a pharmaceutical tray using afilling workstation according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a display of a pharmaceutical tray according to an exemplary.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring generally to the figures, various embodiments of apharmaceutical filling system configured to facilitate filing (e.g.,manual filing) of a multi-compartment pharmaceutical tray and relatedmethod are shown. Generally, the tray includes multiple compartments orwells each configured to hold one or more medication/pharmaceuticalitems and/or one or more medical items, and the tray typically is filledwith more than one different type of pharmaceutical item at a time. Thesystem includes a display device configured to display informationrepresentative of each type of pharmaceutical adjacent to thewells/channels of the tray in a manner that directs the filling of thewell with the appropriate pharmaceutical.

In some embodiments, the system includes a filling workstation having atray support device. The tray support device includes a display devicesurrounded by a support housing such that the display screen ispositioned below the tray during filling. During the tray fillingprocessing, the display device displays information (e.g., images,alphanumeric information, etc.) in various positions on the displaydevice such that the information displayed is viewable through thebottom wall of the wells of the tray. The information displayed providesan indication of the type of pharmaceutical that is to be placed withinthe well through which the information is viewable. During filling ofthe tray, the user (e.g., health care personnel, pharmacist, pharmacytechnician, etc.) is able to see the displayed information displayedbelow each well and places the pharmaceutical that corresponds with thedisplayed information into the well. Following filling of the tray withthe appropriate pharmaceutical in each well, the filled tray may be usedto load the pharmaceuticals into an automated packaging system whichthen packages each of the loaded pharmaceuticals into the desiredpackaging (e.g., unit dose packaging, packaging along with otherpharmaceuticals for a particular patient, belt packages, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 1, an automated packaging system, shown as packagingcabinet 10, is shown according to an exemplary embodiment. Cabinet 10includes a plurality of pharmaceutical canister dispensing compartments12. Each compartment 12 holds a plurality of pharmaceutical canisters 14that each hold a single type of pharmaceutical. Compartments 12typically are loaded with canisters 14 containing the pharmaceuticalsthat are most commonly used by the facility (e.g., hospital, pharmacy,long-term care facility, nursing home, etc.). Cabinet 10 also includes adispensing drawer 16 that includes a plurality of cells or wells 18.Wells 18 of dispensing drawer 16 are typically filled withpharmaceuticals that are used less frequently by the facility than thepharmaceuticals stored in compartment 12. The positioning of eachpharmaceutical within cabinet 10 (e.g., the positioning of each canister14 and the identity of each pharmaceutical located with wells 18 ofdrawer 16) is tracked and stored by the electronic control systemcontrolling cabinet 10 such that the desired pharmaceutical can bedispensed and packaged as needed.

With compartments 12 and drawer 16 filled, cabinet 10 is used toindividually package pharmaceuticals based on prescription informationreceived by the cabinet. In one particular embodiment, cabinet 10 isconfigured to dispense the appropriate type and quantity of thedifferent pharmaceuticals that make up a prescription for a patient andto package the pharmaceuticals in a strip-type package. In oneparticular embodiment, cabinet 10 is a FastPak EXP available fromAmerisourceBergen Technology Group.

Referring to FIG. 1, a multi-chamber tray, shown as tray 20, may be usedto facilitate the filling of each of the wells 18 of dispensing drawer16. In the embodiment shown, tray 20 includes a plurality of numberedwells/channels 22 that corresponded to wells 18 of dispensing drawer 16.As explained in more detail below, wells 22 of tray 20 are filled withthe proper pharmaceutical to be placed into the corresponding wells 18of drawer 16. As shown in FIG. 2, with tray 20 filled, tray 20 is placedonto drawer 16 such that each well 22 of tray 20 is located above thecorresponding well 18 of drawer 16. In one embodiment, drawer 16includes an alignment feature that aligns tray 20 relative to drawer 16in the proper orientation to ensure that the each well 22 of tray 20 ispositioned above the proper well 18 of drawer 16. In the embodimentshown, drawer 16 includes a rim 24 that extends inward from the lateraledges of drawer 16, and tray 20 includes a first lateral edge, shown asnarrow end 26, and a second lateral edge, shown as wide end 30. As shownin FIG. 2, the width, W2, of narrow end 26 is less than the width, W1,of wide end 30. Narrow end 26 is sized to fit between rim 24 of drawer16 such that tray 20 is permitted to properly seat on drawer 16 onlywhen narrow end 26 is located between rim 24. This arrangement helps toensure that tray 20 is properly oriented relative to drawer 16 such thateach well 22 of tray 20 is positioned above the proper, correspondingwell 18 of drawer 16.

With tray 20 properly positioned on drawer 16, levers 28 are actuatedcausing the bottom walls/panels which close wells 22 to slide openallowing the pharmaceutical within each well 22 to fall into thecorresponding well 18 of drawer 16. In one embodiment, tray 20 includesa single planar wall on each half of tray 20 that extends along thelower surface of tray 20, and the wall forms the bottom wall of all ofthe wells 22 on each half of tray 20. Levers 28 on each half of tray 20are coupled to the walls such that as levers 28 are moved laterallywithin slot 32, the bottom walls are moved out from under wells 22allowing the pharmaceutical within each well 22 to fall into thecorresponding well 18 of drawer 16. Once drawer 16 is filled, tray 20 isremoved from on top of drawer 16, and drawer 16 is retracted into thebody of cabinet 10. Cabinet 10 is then ready to dispense thepharmaceuticals from drawer 16 as needed.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3-6, tray 20 may be filled at aworkstation, shown as tray filling workstation 40. Filling workstation40 includes a tray support structure, shown as tray support 42, a firstdisplay 44 and a reader, shown as bar code scanner 46. As shown in thediagram of FIG. 3, filling workstation 40 also includes a controlsystem, shown as controller 48, configured to control the variouscomponents of filling workstation 40 to provide the functionalitydiscussed herein. As shown, controller 48 is communicably coupled topackaging cabinet 10 and database 45. Communication links 47 providecommunication between the different devices shown in FIG. 3.Communication between packaging cabinet 10, database 45 and controller48 allows information regarding which pharmaceuticals are to be filledinto a tray to be communicated between cabinet 10, database 45 andcontroller 48 at filling workstation 40. In addition, variousinformation from workstation 40 (e.g., identification information foreach filled tray 20, error code information, etc.) may be communicatedbetween cabinet 10, database 45 and controller 48. In variousembodiments, database 45 may use the information communicated fromworkstation 40 to identify a particular tray 20, to identify theparticular pharmaceuticals loaded into tray 20, and to identify theparticular well 22 of the tray that includes the particularpharmaceutical. This information may be used by database 45 and therelated control software to control cabinet 10 to properly package thepharmaceuticals as needed. In one embodiment, database 45 acts as aserver and packaging cabinet 10 and workstation 40 are clients ofdatabase 45. It should be understood that while FIG. 3 shows a singlepackaging cabinet 10 and a single workstation served by database 45,multiple packaging cabinets 10 and/or multiple workstations 40 may beused in conjunction with database 45.

Controller 48 may be a general purpose computer, a general purposeprocessor, an application specific processor (ASIC), a circuitcontaining one or more processing components, a group of distributedprocessing components, a group of distributed computers configured forprocessing, etc., configured to provide the functionality of workstation40 discussed herein. Controller 48 may include or have access to one ormore devices for storing data and/or computer code for completing and/orfacilitating the various processes described in the present application.Such storage devices may include volatile memory, non-volatile memory,database components, object code components, script components, and/orany other type of information structure for supporting the variousfunctions of workstation 40 described herein. In various embodiments,controller 48 is a desktop or laptop computer including softwareconfigured to provide the functionalities of workstation 40 discussedherein. Communication links 47 may be wired or wireless communicationlinks and may use either standard or proprietary communicationsprotocols, and controller 48 is configured with appropriate hardwareand/or software for communicating with the devices shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, tray support 42 includes a support housing 50 and asecond display 52. In various embodiments, second display 52 is adisplay device including a flat panel display screen, and for example,is an LCD display device or LED screen display device. As shown in FIG.4, the flat panel of the display 52 lies in a substantially horizontalplane (e.g., a plane less than plus or minus 45 degrees from horizontal,less than plus or minus 45 degrees from horizontal, plus or minus 10degrees from horizontal, etc.). As shown in FIG. 5, prior to filling,tray 20 is placed on to tray support 42. Tray support 42 includes aphysical structure that orients tray 20 over display 52 in a way thatdisplay 52 is viewable from above tray 20. In the specific embodimentshown, support housing 50 includes an upstanding peripheral rim 54 thatextends upward and away from a support surface 56. In this embodiment,support surface 56 is a substantially horizontal support surfaceextending inwardly from an inner surface of peripheral rim 54. In thetray fill position shown in FIG. 5, a lower surface of tray 20 seats onsupport surface 56, and the inner surface of peripheral rim 54 engagesthe outer, lateral surface of tray 20 to securely seat tray 20 on traysupport 42. In this arrangement, peripheral rim 54 surrounds theperipheral edge of display 52.

In various embodiments, tray support 42 includes an alignment structureconfigured to engage tray 20 such that tray 20 is only permitted to seattray support 42 in the proper positioning. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 5, peripheral rim 54 of tray support 42 includes an inset region 55sized to engage narrow end 26 of tray 20. To properly mount tray 20 totray support 42, narrow end 26 of tray 20 is placed within inset region55 of peripheral rim 54, and if the user attempts to mount tray support42 in an incorrect orientation, inset region 55 interferes with wide end30 of tray 20 providing a visual indication that tray 20 is not mountedin the correct orientation. In another embodiment, the alignment featureis a dowel pin that engages a bushing only when tray 20 is loaded ontotray support 42 in the proper position. In another embodiment, thealignment feature is an electronic tag reader that reads a tag on tray20 only when tray 20 is loaded onto tray support 42 in the properposition.

Tray 20 also includes a identification tag, shown as tray barcode 58,that uniquely identifies tray 20. Barcode 58 will be read prior tofilling tray 20 with pharmaceuticals at workstation 40. The trayidentification information read from barcode 58 is then associated withdata indicating which pharmaceuticals are to be loaded into tray 20(e.g., a tray fill order as discussed below), and thus, during loadingof cabinet 10 the identity of tray 20 is read and information indicatingwhich pharmaceuticals are loaded in each cell of tray 20 (andconsequentially in each corresponding well of drawer 16) is storedwithin database 45 associated with cabinet 10 to track whichpharmaceuticals have been loaded into cabinet 10. Database 45 and therelated control software utilize the information indicating whichpharmaceuticals are located in each cell of drawer 16 to control cabinet10 to properly dispense the desired pharmaceutical from drawer 16 duringpackaging.

In one embodiment, barcode 58 may be read using an external barcodereader 46. In another embodiment, tray support 42 may include a barcodereader directly coupled to support housing 50. In this embodiment,workstation 40 is configured to automatically read the barcode uponmounting of tray 20 onto tray support 42. In another embodiment, theidentification tag is an RFID tag, and tray support 42 includes an RFIDreader. In another embodiment, the identification tag is a labelincluding a unique alphanumeric code that the user of workstation 40enters (e.g., via keyboard) prior to filling tray 20.

After tray 20 is seated onto tray support 42 and the ID tag of tray 20is read, workstation 40 (e.g., under the control of controller 48) isconfigured to assist the user of workstation 40 to properly place thecorrect pharmaceuticals into wells 22 of tray 20. As discussed in moredetail below, various information and instructions are displayed to theuser via display 44 to guide the user through the tray filling process.For example, instructions to fill certain wells 22 of tray 20 with aparticular pharmaceutical may be displayed on display 44. In oneembodiment, the user of workstation 40 retrieves a container 60 of theneeded pharmaceutical and scans a barcode on container 60 with scanner46. Controller 48 of workstation 40 confirms that the properpharmaceutical container was retrieved, and the user is instructed tofill one or more wells 22 of tray 20 with the pharmaceutical fromcontainer 60. When all required wells 22 of tray 20 have been filledfrom container 60, the user returns container 60 to storage andcontinues filling the remaining wells of tray 20 with the properpharmaceuticals.

Referring to FIG. 6, workstation 40 is configured to assist in filingtray 20 by causing the display of information representative of aparticular pharmaceutical (e.g., display of an image and/or display ofalphanumeric information) to direct the user of workstation 40 to fillparticular wells 22 of tray 20 with a particular pharmaceutical. Invarious embodiments, workstation 40 includes one or more displaydevices, shown as display screen 52, configured to display theinformation adjacent to the particular wells 22 of tray 20 to be filledwith a particular pharmaceutical. In one such embodiment, as shown inFIG. 6, display screen 52 is located below tray 20, and the controllerof workstation 40 is configured to display one or more images 62 atdistinct spatial positions on screen 52 such that the one or more images62 are located below each well 22 of tray 20 that is to a particularpharmaceutical. In one embodiment, image 62 is an image of theparticular pharmaceutical that is to be added to the well below whichthe image 62 is displayed. In the embodiment shown, each well 22includes a lower wall 64 that transmits light (e.g., light transmitting.transparent or translucent) such that images 62 displayed on screen 52are viewable from above tray 20. In another embodiment, a fillingindication (e.g., a lighted or colored shaped, a white square, etc.) canbe displayed on the flat panel display between each well 22 to directthe user to fill the appropriate well.

In addition to displaying pharmaceutical images, controller 48 ofworkstation 40 may be configured to cause the display of alphanumericinformation 66 representative of a pharmaceutical (instead of or inaddition to images 62) at distinct spatial positions on screen 52 suchthat the alphanumeric information 66 is located below each well 22 oftray 20 that is to receive the pharmaceutical currently being filled. Asexplained in more detail below, once a first set of wells 22 are filled,images 62 and/or alphanumeric information 66 may be displayed beneathanother set of wells indicating that the user is to fill those cellswith a second type of pharmaceutical. This process repeats until thereare no other pharmaceuticals to be loaded into tray 20.

In one embodiment, image 62 displayed is an image of the particularpharmaceutical to be placed into the corresponding well 22 of tray 20.Thus, the user of workstation 40 is able to compare the appearance ofthe pharmaceutical actually being placed into tray 20 with the image 62being displayed to confirm that the proper pharmaceutical is beingloaded into tray 20. In another embodiment, image 62 may be a genericimage or graphic displayed to highlight which well 22 of tray 20 is tobe filled. In one embodiment, alphanumeric information 66 may be a drugcode for the drug being filled or the name of the drug being filled. Inanother embodiment, alphanumeric information 66 may be show the numberof individual pills or tablets that are to be placed in the associatedwell.

In various embodiments, controller 48 of workstation 40 is incommunication with a database, shown as database 45, and database 45includes various data that is used by controller 48 to provide thefunctionality discussed herein. Database 45 is also in communicationwith cabinet 10 and also may include control software for controllingcabinet 10. In various embodiments database 45 includes one or more ofthe following types of data: tray data representative of the trayidentifier, data representative of pharmaceutical or medical items to bemanually placed in the wells of the pharmaceutical tray, datarepresentative of the respective wells within which the respectivepharmaceutical or medical items are to be placed, data representative ofthe pharmaceutical or medical items, association data which associatesthe pharmaceutical or medical identifier with the pharmaceutical ormedical items, alpha numeric data associated with the pharmaceutical ormedical items, expiration dates associated with the pharmaceutical ormedical items, manufacturer information associated with thepharmaceutical or medical items and any other information which may berequired for a particular application. In various embodiments, theprescription data is representative of information for a plurality ofpharmaceutical, medication or medical items where such informationincludes at least data useable by the workstation to generate images forthe plurality of medication items on the first and second displays. Invarious specific embodiments, the data from database 45 may be used byworkstation 40 to generate of images for a plurality of pharmaceuticalitems on displays 44 and/or 52.

In various embodiments, each well 22 of tray 20 may be equipped with asensor configured to detect when the well has been filled. In one suchembodiment, bottom wall 64 may be a touch sensitive sensor such thateach pill impact within well 22 is detected and counted. In anotherembodiment, each well 22 may be equipped with an infrared reflectancesensor, a capacitance sensor or proximity sensor configured to detectentry of each pill into well 22.

In the embodiments discussed above, tray 20 and workstation 40 aredescribed primarily relating to filling a tray with pharmaceuticalsand/or medical items. However in other embodiments, a tray 20 andworkstation 40 can generally be equipped and/or configured to facilitateplacement of other items into a multi-welled tray. In such embodiments,the information (e.g., an image, alphanumeric-information, etc.)displayed adjacent or below each well of the tray is representative ofthe item to be placed in the well.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, operation of workstation 40 to fill one ormore trays 20 is shown according to an exemplary embodiment. At step100, controller 48 causes display screen 44 to display a list of eachtray fill order that requires filling. Generally, the tray fill order isdata received by controller 48 from database 45 providing theinformation needed to properly fill tray 20 using workstation 40. In oneembodiment, the tray fill order includes data representative of theidentity of each pharmaceutical (e.g., identity, pill size, etc.) to befilled into tray 20 and also includes data indicative of each particularof well 22 that is to receive a pharmaceutical (e.g., well ID numbers,well position numbers, etc.).

At step 102, the user selects an empty tray 20, and places the selectedtray 20 onto tray support 42 of filling workstation 40. At step 104, areading device (e.g., bar code scanner 46) reads the unique identifierof the tray 20 loaded onto tray support 42, and compares the read trayID to database 45. At step 106, controller 48 confirms via the databasecheck that the read tray ID has not already been assigned to a tray fillorder. At step 108, if the comparison indicates that the tray 20selected by the user has already been assigned to a tray fill order,controller 48 triggers the display of an error message on display screen44 instructing the user of filling workstation 40 to select anothertray. In one embodiment, at step 108, controller 48 triggers the displayof the error message on display screen 52 located below tray 20.

If the selected tray 20 has not already been assigned a tray fill order,an unfilled tray fill order (e.g., the next tray order in the queue tobe filled) is assigned to the tray (e.g., by associating the tray fillorder with the tray ID in the database), and the process moves to step110. In the various embodiments discussed herein, the tray fill orderincludes a list of each pharmaceutical to be filled into a particulartray 20 along with the assigned well 22 of the tray 20 that will containa particular pharmaceutical after filling. At step 110, controller 48displays information identifying the first pharmaceutical to be filledinto tray on display screen 44 and also displays a prompt directing theuser to retrieve the container holding the first pharmaceutical from astorage location (e.g., a shelf, drawer, etc.). In one embodiment, atstep 110 information identifying the location of the firstpharmaceutical may also be displayed.

After retrieval of the first pharmaceutical, the user scans the bar codeon the pharmaceutical container using bar code scanner 46 of workstation40. At step 112, controller 48 compares the scanned bar code to theexpected bar code for the first pharmaceutical. If the scanned bar codedoes not match the expected bar code, at step 114, controller 48displays an error message on display screen 44 and/or on display screen52, and the user is prompted to retrieve the proper pharmaceuticalcontainer. If the scanned bar code matches the expected bar code,controller 48 determines that the user has selected to the properpharmaceutical container, and at step 116, controller 48 displays aprompt to the user via display screen 44 instructing the user to enterthe lot number and expiration date of the pharmaceutical (e.g., inputreceived via keyboard associated with workstation 40 or via a touchscreen version of display screen 44). In one embodiment, the lot numberand/or expiration date of the pharmaceutical entered at step 116 isstored in database 45 and is associated with each tray well that holdsthe pharmaceutical. In this embodiment, packaging cabinet 10 has accessto and may utilize the lot number and/or expiration date data duringpackaging of pharmaceutical. In one such embodiment, cabinet 10 isconfigured to access database 45 during packing of pharmaceuticals fromtray 16 and to print or otherwise adhere a label onto the pharmaceuticalpackage or pouch that indicates the lot number and/or the expirationdate.

At step 118, controller 48 controls display 52 to display information(e.g., image information, alphanumeric information, etc. as discussedabove) indicative of the first pharmaceutical beneath each well 22 oftray 20 that is assigned to receive the first pharmaceutical by the trayfill order. Because the bottom walls of the wells 22 of tray 20 aretransparent, the user is able to see which wells 22 are highlighted bythe display of information, and the user fills each highlighted wellwith the first pharmaceutical.

At step 120, controller 48 and/or the user determines whether there is asufficient quantity of the first pharmaceutical within the containerretrieved by the user to fill each of the wells 22 of tray 20 that areto be filled with the first pharmaceutical. If it is determined that thecontainer retrieved by the user does not contain enough of the firstpharmaceutical to fill each of the wells, the process moves to the step150, discussed below. If it is determined that the container retrievedby the user does contain enough of the first pharmaceutical to fill eachof the wells that should be filled with the first pharmaceutical, theuser fills all of the wells 22 highlighted by the display of informationas discussed above.

At step 122, the user indicates that each well 22 has been filled, forexample by selecting a “done filling” button displayed on screen 44(e.g., via selection by a mouse, or selection of a button on a touchscreen version of screen 44). In an embodiment in which tray 20 isconfigured to detect filling of wells 22 using a sensor, controller 48may be configured to automatically determine when filling is completebased on the data received from the sensors. At step 124, controller 48stops displaying the information highlighting each of the wells 22 to befilled after controller 48 has determined that all required wells havebeen filled with the first pharmaceutical.

At step 126, controller 48 determines whether there are additionalpharmaceuticals in the tray fill order that need to be added to the tray20 currently located at fill workstation 40. If there are unfilled itemsin the tray fill order, steps 110-124 are repeated until all of thepharmaceuticals of the tray fill order have been added to the tray.

Referring to FIG. 7A, controller 48 determines that all pharmaceuticalsof a tray fill order have been placed into tray 20 when the userindicates that the final pharmaceutical in the order has been filledinto the tray. When controller 48 determines that filling of tray 20 iscompleted, at step 130, controller 48 determines whether additionalquality checking or witness checking is needed. In an embodiment whereno additional checking is required, the process moves to step 140, andcontroller 48 controls display 44 and/or display 52 to display a messagethat filling is completed and displays a prompt that the user is toremove the filled tray 20 from workstation 40. The user then uses thefilled tray 20 to fill drawer 16 of cabinet 10, as discussed above.

In an embodiment, shown in FIG. 7A, controller 48 is configured torequire additional review of the filled tray 20 prior to allowing tray20 to be used to fill drawer 16. In this embodiment, at step 132,controller 48 controls display 44 to display a prompt to have the userof workstation 40 have a reviewer or witness login into fillingworkstation 40, and at step 134, the witness logs into workstation 40.At step 136, the witness sequentially selects each of thepharmaceuticals in the fill tray order (e.g., via touch screen display44, via selection of drug name on screen via mouse), and as eachdifferent pharmaceutical is selected, controller 48 triggers the displayof the information (e.g., images 62 or alphanumeric information 66 shownin FIG. 6) beneath each well of tray 20 that is supposed to contain theselected pharmaceutical. This allows the witness to confirm or doublecheck that the appropriate pharmaceutical has been placed in theappropriate wells 22 of tray 20. At step 138, the witness confirms thattray 20 has been properly filled by selecting a tray approved icondisplayed on screen 44. After the witness approves the tray, the processmoves to step 140, and controller 48 controls display 44 and/or display52 to display a message that filling is completed and displays a promptthat the user is to remove the filled tray 20 from workstation 40. Theuser then uses the filled tray 20 to fill drawer 16 of cabinet 10 asdiscussed above.

Referring back to step 120, controller 48 and/or the user determineswhether there is a sufficient quantity of the first pharmaceuticalwithin the container retrieved by the user to fill each of the wells 22of tray 20 that are to be filled with the first pharmaceutical. If it isdetermined that the container retrieved by the user does not containenough of the first pharmaceutical to fill each of the wells, theprocess moves to step 150. At step 150, controller 48 and/or the userchecks information regarding the current inventory and if there areother containers of the needed pharmaceutical available in theinventory, controller 48 causes the display of a prompt on screen 44instructing the user to retrieve another container of the first neededpharmaceutical from a storage location. In one embodiment, controller 48causes the display of information indicative of the storage location ofthe additional container. At step 152, the user indicates that the newcontainer of the pharmaceutical has been retrieved by selecting a startnew bottle icon displayed on screen 44.

Referring to FIG. 7B, at step 154, controller 48 controls display 44 todisplay a prompt to the user to scan the bar code on the pharmaceuticalcontainer using bar code scanner 46 of workstation 40. At step 156,controller 48 compares the scanned bar code to the expected bar code forthe first pharmaceutical. If the scanned bar code does not match theexpected bar code, at step 158, controller 48 displays an error messageon display screen 44 and/or on display screen 52, and the user isprompted to retrieve the proper pharmaceutical container to be filled.If the scanned bar code matches the expected bar code, controller 48determines that the user has selected to the proper pharmaceuticalcontainer, and at step 160, controller 48 displays a prompt to the uservia display screen 44 instructing the user to enter the lot number andexpiration date of the pharmaceutical (e.g., via keyboard associatedwith workstation 40 or via a touch screen version of display screen 44).At step 162, controller 48 compares the lot number and expiration dateof the new prescription container entered at step 160 to the lot numberand expiration date entered at step 116. If at step 162, controller 48determines that the lot numbers and expiration dates are the same, atstep 170, controller 48 causes display 44 to display a prompt for theuser to continue filling the tray, and the process passes back to step120, and the rest of the tray is filled as discussed above.

If at step 162, controller 48 determines that the lot numbers andexpiration dates are different, at step 164, controller 48 causes screen44 to display a prompt instructing the user to identify which wells 22of tray 20 where already filled with the pharmaceutical. In oneembodiment, controller 48 cause the display of an image of tray 20 onscreen 44, and the user selects (e.g., via touch screen display 44, orvia selection of the wells on the screen via a mouse), which wells ofthe tray were already filled. At step 166, when the user has selectedall of the wells that were filled from the original pharmaceuticalcontainer, the user indicates completion by selecting an ok or stepcompleted icon. At step 168, controller 48 stops the display information(e.g., images 62, alphanumeric information 66, etc.) on screen 52beneath the wells 22 that were already filled but continues to displayinformation (e.g., images 62, alphanumeric information 66, etc.) onscreen 52 beneath the wells 22 that still must be filled with thepharmaceutical from the new container. Thus, after step 168, controller48 only causes the display of information (e.g., images 62, alphanumericinformation 66, etc.) on screen 52 beneath the wells 22 that still needto be filled, and then at step 170, controller 48 causes display 44 todisplay a prompt for the user to continue filling the tray, and theprocess passes back to step 120, and the rest of the tray is filled asdiscussed above.

Following step 150, at step 172, if no additional containers of theneeded pharmaceutical are available, the user selects an icon indicatingthat no additional containers of the needed pharmaceutical areavailable. In one embodiment, controller 48 accesses inventoryinformation directly to determine whether additional containers of theneeded pharmaceutical are available, and in this embodiment, step 172 isskipped. At step 174, controller 48 causes screen 44 to display a promptinstructing the user to identify which wells 22 of tray 20 where alreadyfilled with the pharmaceutical. In one embodiment, controller 48 causesthe display of an image of tray 20 on screen 44, and the user selects(e.g., via touch screen display 44, or via selection of the wells on thescreen via a mouse) which wells of the tray were already filled with theneeded pharmaceutical. At step 176, when the user has selected all ofthe wells that were filled from the original pharmaceutical container,the user indicates completion by selecting an ok or step completed icon.However, in an embodiment in which the wells of tray 20 are equipped tosense filling of the wells (e.g., via a touch sensitive bottom wall,etc. as discussed above), controller 48 may be configured toautomatically determine that the wells have been filled based upon thedata from the sensors. The information captured at step 174 and 176 isused by controller 48 and/or the control system of cabinet 10 to trackwhich wells of tray 20 and of drawer 16 were not able to be filled asrequested by the fill tray order. At step 178, the pharmaceutical thatis out of stock is removed from the fill tray order, and the processpasses back to step 126, and filling of the tray continues as discussedabove.

As an alternative to the use of separate display device 52 andnon-opaque, moveable well closure panels, it is also contemplated thatdisplay device 52 could be modified to also function as the closurepanel. For example, a moveable, LED display panels could be used as theclosure panels to eliminate the separate display device 52 and the needto index the tray to the display device. In this embodiment, the traywould include a wired or wireless interface to the workstation so thatLED closure panels of the trays 18 could be controlled by theworkstation 40 to generate the images required below each well 22.Additionally, this configuration may permit the elimination of the useof a barcode as the tray identifier. Rather, the tray identifier wouldbe a code stored in the tray and read by the workstation 40 through theinterface.

Referring to FIG. 8, in another embodiment, workstation 40 may beconfigured to display information representative of pharmaceuticals tobe filled into tray 20 on a display screen (for example display screen44) located adjacent to a tray 20 to assist the user in properly fillingthe wells of tray 20. In one such embodiment, workstation 40 isconfigured to facilitate filling of a tray 20 by displaying an image 200representative of a tray 20 to be filled on the display screen 44 ofworkstation 40. In this embodiment, the display of the graphic 200 isadjacent the wells 22 of tray 20 due to the proximity of tray 20 todisplay 44 during filling. Image 200 replicates includes graphics 206representative of each of the wells 22 of tray 20, and each of the wellgraphics 206 have a spatial relationship to the other wells and to theother displayed structure that correlates to the spatial relationship ofwells 22 and the structure of physical tray 20. In one embodiment, image200 is a to scale graphical representation of tray 20.

In various embodiments, controller 48 is configured to alter the displayof graphics on display 44 to facilitate the filling of tray 20. Forexample, in one embodiment, controller 48 is configured to displayimages of pharmaceuticals to be filled, for example images 202, withinone or more well graphics 206 of image 200 that correlate to the wells22 of tray 20 that are to receive a particular pharmaceutical. Inanother embodiment, controller 48 is configured to display alphanumericinformation of pharmaceuticals to be filled, for example images 204,within one or more well graphics 206 of image 200 that correlate to thewells 22 of tray 20 that are to receive a particular pharmaceutical. Inanother embodiment, controller 48 is configured to display othergraphics (e.g., change color, highlight, display “fill”, etc.) within oraround one or more well graphics 206 of image 200 that correlate to thewells 22 of tray 20 that are to receive a particular pharmaceutical.

In this embodiment, graphic 200 on display 44 acts as a map or graphicaldirections to the user of workstation 40 regarding how tray 20 should befilled. In this embodiment, the user views graphic 200 to determinewhich of well graphics 206 are indicated (e.g., via graphics 202,alphanumeric info 204, or other highlighting) to receive apharmaceutical. The user correlates the indicated well graphics 206 withthe physical wells 22 in tray 20, and fills wells 22 accordingly. Inthis manner, controller 48 and the user substantially execute the methodshown in FIGS. 7A and 7B except that steps 118, 124 and 168 involve thedisplay of graphics 202 or 204 within well graphics 206 on display 44rather than the display on screen 52 as discussed above.

It should be understood that the figures illustrate the exemplaryembodiments in detail, and it should be understood that the presentapplication is not limited to the details or methodology set forth inthe description or illustrated in the figures. It should also beunderstood that the terminology is for the purpose of description onlyand should not be regarded as limiting.

Further, as used herein pharmaceutical items includes drugs, medicines,over the counter drugs, prescription drugs, nutritional supplements,nutraceuticals, tablets, powders, or any other similar product that maybe used in a health care setting. In addition, medical items may includepharmaceutical items, medical devices, medical instruments, medicalsupplies (e.g., bandages, syringes, gauze, IVs, ampules, ports, etc.).

Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects ofthe invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed asillustrative only. The construction and arrangements, shown in thevarious exemplary embodiments, are illustrative only. Although only afew embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, manymodifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions,structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values ofparameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors,orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novelteachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. Someelements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple partsor elements, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwisevaried, and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions maybe altered or varied. The order or sequence of any process, logicalalgorithm, or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according toalternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes andomissions may also be made in the design, operating conditions andarrangement of the various exemplary embodiments without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

While the current application recites particular combinations offeatures in the claims appended hereto, various embodiments of theinvention relate to any combination of any of the features describedherein whether or not such combination is currently claimed, and anysuch combination of features may be claimed in this or futureapplications. Any of the features, elements, or components of any of theexemplary embodiments discussed above may be used alone or incombination with any of the features, elements, or components of any ofthe other embodiments discussed above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a pharmaceutical fillingworkstation to facilitate the manual filling of a pharmaceutical trayincluding a plurality of wells each configured to hold a pharmaceutical,the method comprising: controlling a display device to displayinformation indicative of a first pharmaceutical below a first well ofthe plurality of wells; receiving a first input indicative of the firstpharmaceutical being placed in the first well; controlling the displaydevice to display information indicative of a second pharmaceuticalbelow a second well of the plurality of wells; and receiving a secondinput indicative of the second pharmaceutical being placed in the secondwell.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the display device is controlledto display the information indicative of the first pharmaceutical belowa bottom wall of the first well and to display the informationindicative of the second pharmaceutical below a bottom wall of thesecond well, and further comprising viewing the information indicativeof the first pharmaceutical through the bottom wall of the first well,and viewing the information indicative of the second pharmaceuticalthrough the bottom wall of the second well.
 3. The method of claim 2wherein the first input is received from an input device and the secondinput is received from the input device.
 4. The method of claim 1further comprising receiving a tray fill order including data indicativeof the first and second pharmaceuticals, data indicative of the firstwell and data indicative of the second well.
 5. The method of claim 4further comprising displaying information indicative of the first andsecond pharmaceuticals, indicative of the first well and indicative ofthe second well on a touch screen device located adjacent the displaydevice.
 6. A method of manually filling a pharmaceutical tray includinga plurality of wells each configured to hold a pharmaceutical, themethod comprising: placing the pharmaceutical tray above a flat paneldisplay, wherein the flat panel display is viewable through thepharmaceutical tray; displaying information indicative of a firstpharmaceutical adjacent a first well of the pharmaceutical tray; fillingthe first well with the first pharmaceutical; displaying informationindicative of a second pharmaceutical adjacent a second well of thepharmaceutical tray; and filling the second well with the secondpharmaceutical.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the informationindicative of the first pharmaceutical is displayed below a bottom wallof the first well and the information indicative of the secondpharmaceutical is displayed below a bottom wall of the second well. 8.The method of claim 6 further comprising entering at least one of thelot number and expiration date of the first pharmaceutical and enteringat least one of the lot number and expiration date of the secondpharmaceutical.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising: removingthe pharmaceutical tray from above the flat panel display; filling apackaging cabinet with the pharmaceutical tray; packaging the firstpharmaceutical into a package at the packaging cabinet; and printing atleast one of the lot number and expiration date of the firstpharmaceutical on the package.
 10. A system for filling a prescriptionmedication orders, comprising: a medication tray including at least onerow of medication channels passing through the tray and a uniquemachine-readable tray identifier; a workstation including a firstdisplay device configured to display medication information and todisplay information input at the workstation, a second displayconfigured to display images at the bottom of a plurality of channels, areader assembly configured to read the tray identifier and to read amachine-readable medication identifier from a medication container; anda database including tray data representative of the tray identifier,data representative of medication items to be manually placed in themedication tray, data representative of the respective channels withinwhich the respective medication items are to be placed, prescriptiondata representative of information for a plurality of medication itemswhere such information includes data useable by the workstation togenerate of images of a plurality of medication items on the first andsecond displays, and association data which associates the medicationidentifier with the medication items; the workstation configured tocommunicate with the database and the reader assembly, to displayinformation on the first display representative of at least onemedication item associated with a tray identifier, to displayinformation on the first display representative of medication from amedication container and to generate an image representative of themedication item at the bottom of the channel in the tray at which themedication item is to be placed.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein thetray and medication identifiers are bar codes and the reader assembly isa barcode reader.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein the tray andmedication identifiers are barcodes and the reader assembly includes afirst barcode reader located to read the tray identifier and a secondbarcode reader configured to read the medication identifier.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, which includes a non-opaque, panel which is moveableto close the bottoms of the channels and to permit viewing of imagesgenerated by the second display through the panel when medication itemsare placed in the channels, and moveable to open the bottoms of thechannels when items in the channels are to be dispensed from thechannels.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the second display is atleast one display panel moveable to close the bottoms of the channelsand permit viewing of the images generated by the second display whenmedication items are placed in the channels, and moveable to open thebottoms of the channels when items in the channels are to be dispensedfrom the channels.
 15. The system of claim 10 wherein the workstation isconfigured to receive an input indicative of at least one of the lotnumber and the expiration date of the medication item and to store thereceived lot number and expiration date in the database.
 16. A fillingsystem configured to facilitate placement of items within the wells of amulti-welled tray comprising: a first display screen; a tray including aplurality of wells, each well configured to hold an item, each wellincluding a bottom wall formed from a light transmitting material,wherein the tray is positioned above the first display screen; and acontroller configured to control the first display screen to displayinformation related to a first item at a first region of the firstdisplay screen such that the displayed information is viewable fromabove the tray through the bottom wall of a first well of the tray todirect the user of the workstation to fill the first well with the firstitem.
 17. The filling system of claim 16 further comprising a seconddisplay screen adjacent the first display screen, and a tray supportstructure surrounding the first display screen.
 18. The filling systemof claim 16 wherein the first item is a first pharmaceutical item.